Discrimination

Women make less than men. In Canada. In the United States. In every country in the world.

Belgium (yes, chocolate lovers, Belgium) has the smallest wage gap in the world. Women earn just 6 per cent less than men in Belgium. Canada comes in 25th among high-income countries, with women earning, on average, 20 per cent less than men.

That's because women don't work as many hours as men, right?

Nope.

Working full-time, full year, women make 20 per cent less than men in Canada.

The Fraser Institute is really concerned that public sector employees might be making more than private sector employees. What is notable about the recent Fraser Institute report on public and private sector wages in British Columbia is that it does not seem particularly concerned with the reasons why there are variations in public and private sector compensation. The stated concern of the report is that public sector wages, benefits and job security should be more closely tied to private sector wages, benefits and job security.

The human rights process starts with the filing of a complaint of discrimination. In B.C., the complaint is filed with the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal. Filing an effective complaint requires a good deal of time and effort. It can be hard to devote that time and effort if, for example, someone has been fired because of discrimination and is searching as hard as they can to find another job. In short, the complaints process can be useful, but dealing with discrimination after it has occurred is far from easy.

Yes. You read that right. British Columbia has no human rights commission. It is the only province in Canada without a publicly funded independent agency that works to prevent discrimination through public education, research, advocacy and the promotion of basic human rights.

Human rights are everyone's business. The social climate we live in affects us all. When people are subjected to prejudice and discrimination because they are Aboriginal or because of their gender or because of their sexual orientation or for some other reason, it creates a society that is more ugly, less safe and less human for all of us.

That is why we need a Human Rights Commission in B.C. Otherwise, prejudice and injustice fester, people's lives are harmed and destructive crises erupt.

British Columbia is the only province in Canada that does not have a Human Rights Commission. That makes us the weakest province when it comes to fostering human rights awareness and preventing discrimination.

Currently B.C. only has a Human Rights Tribunal, which mediates and adjudicates complaints about discrimination after it has occurred. The Tribunal does its job well. But the onus to identify and report human rights violations rests on individual British Columbians, who must know their rights, navigate the complaints process, and handle the risk of failure. We know that the complaints that get to the Tribunal are only the "tip of the iceberg," and that many of the tougher, more systemic issues are not resolved through individual complaints.

Last year on May 10, I was made the target of overt racism at a club in downtown Peterborough. I was told by the bouncer of the club that I was a "smelly East Indian in need of a deodorant" and I "should go home and get one."

It wasn't the first time I had been discriminated against, subjected to racial stereotypes or experienced micro-aggressions but it was so blatant and so shocking -- I had been happily dancing by myself, feeling the music and feeling comfortable in my own skin.

After being humiliated and disgusted, I reported it to the owners of the club.